Recap / Corner Gas S 6 E 03 Self Serving

A Plot: Lacey convinces Brent to have self-serve pumps after tiring of dialogue while getting a fill-up. In return, Brent presses Lacey into having a buffet at her restaurant. Brent goes from enjoying the laziness aspect to being desperate for conversation, while Lacey starts neglecting her customers even when the buffet needs refilling.

B Plot: Wanda decides to become the Rumor Queen, but is unable to do so without slandering Emma and Karen. When they tire of her antics, they decide to get revenge...by doing absolutely nothing, and letting Wanda's paranoia get the best of her.

C Plot: Hank decides to sell his old laptop, offering it to both Oscar and Davis. Davis offers the better price, but Oscar insists he get it because he offered to buy it first...before secretly reselling it to Davis. But Oscar drops and breaks it, leading to a series of scams as the laptop switches hands back to Hank and then to Oscar again.

Tropes referenced:

• Ambiguous Syntax:
  Brent: Nice weather we're having.
  Gas Station Customer: Some change.
  Brent: Yeah, it was kind of overcast and now it's looking pretty sunny.
  Gas Station Customer: No, you owe me some change.
• Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: After hearing about how Wanda's slandered them, Brent has an Imagine Spot of Emma and Karen being this in a show called "Pyro and the Idiot".
  Idiot/Karen: Pyro, there was something wrong with that molotov cocktail you gave me!
  Pyro/Emma: What do you mean, Idiot?
  Idiot: It didn't taste very good!
  Pyro: Oh, Idiot... you're such an idiot.
• Call-Back: In "Lacey Borrows", Karen has an Imagine Spot where Hank steals her laptop and tries to sell it. In this episode, Hank actually does sell a laptop, albeit it's his own.
• Dialogue Reversal:
  • Brent is lamenting his new self-service option:
    Brent: I don't know about this self-serve thing.
    Lacey: What's the problem? Finding people don't mind paying less to not hang out with you?
  • Then, very shortly after in the same conversation:
    Lacey: Buffets are not the real restaurant experience.
    Brent: Sounds like you're worried people won't mind paying a little less not to hang out with you.
• Distinction Without a Difference:
  Wanda: In high school I was known as the rumor queen.
  Karen: You always claim you're the best at something!
  Wanda: I didn't say I was the best. I said I was the queen... but I was the best.
• Double-Meaning Title: While Lacey and Brent offer self-serve business practices, Wanda and Oscar both hatch schemes that backfire on them...or in other words, they served themselves.
• Dull Surprise: In an attempt to fix the situation with Karen and Emma, Wanda shares an outlandish rumor to Lacey about them rescuing a dying puppy. Lacey barely even looks up from her book to acknowledge her.
• Gossip Evolution: Wanda's rumors and attempts to correct them end up this way.
• Hates Being Alone: Brent finds himself desperate for attention and company after everyone starts using the self-service gas option.
• Humble Pie: In an attempt to get Brent to feel better, Lacey announces to the whole diner about how great the full service at Corner Gas is. She then gets roasted by everyone (including Brent himself) about how much her buffet sucks.
• Insane Troll Logic: Oscar thinks buying a laptop for fifty bucks as a "Solitaire machine" will save him from having to buy decks of cards.
  Emma: That'll pay for itself in about a hundred and ten years.
• Malaproper: Hank thinks a plagiarist is someone who has a bunch of husbands, mixing it up with polygamist.
• Out-Gambitted: Even though Davis has a better offer, Oscar tricks Hank into selling him the laptop by playing up his old age. Oscar turns around and tries to sell it to Davis for the higher price, but it falls on the floor during his sales pitch, and Davis refuses when the laptop won't turn on. Thinking it's broken, Oscar gets a refund from Hank by claiming he feels bad about not letting Davis buy it. When Hank realizes the ruse, he tells Oscar he's decided not to sell the laptop because he charged it up and remembered how much he enjoyed it. Convinced the laptop is functional, Oscar agrees to buy it again for a little more money. He immediately tries to sell it to Davis again, but Davis finds that it still doesn't work. Oscar ends up having paid a bunch of money for a broken laptop, and Davis reveals he helped Hank with the swindling in exchange for a cut of what Oscar paid.
• Paranoia Gambit: Wanda becomes anxious concerning what Karen and Emma have planned for her, and asks people if they're spreading certain types of rumors about her...not realizing she's creating and spreading the rumors herself.
• Shout-Out: To The Little Engine That Could:
  Lacey: [waiting for Brent to pump her gas] Do you think we could do this?
  Brent: I think I can. I think I can.
  Lacey: You know, the Little Engine That Could actually did. Wouldn't have been much of a story if he didn't.
  Brent: I have a postmodern take on it.
• Status Quo Is God: By the end of the episode, Brent has tossed out the self-service option and Lacey's buffet has fallen flat, leading her to return to the Ruby's normal operation.
• Took a Level in Cynic: Lacey gets so used to having the buffet around that she actively pushes people away from ordering off the menu, tells people to make their own coffee or find their own condiments, and throws out extra insults just because she has the extra time to do so.